Chinese LCC Spring Airlines will take delivery of up to seven Airbus A320 family aircraft by the end of 2020, increasing its fleet by about 7% as it expands its business by redeploying international capacity to domestic routes.
The creditors of Jet Airways have approved the purchase of the collapsed Indian airline, although there are still significant hurdles to overcome if it is to restart operations in some form.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is confident business travel will eventually recover to pre-pandemic levels, but he thinks it will probably take another four years.
Vienna Airport operator Flughafen Wien AG is preparing a trial of COVID-19 rapid testing on departing passengers in cooperation with Austrian Airlines.
Canada’s travel restrictions are resulting in the country’s airlines losing significant share to foreign operators, WestJet’s CEO said, adding the airline does not realistically believe the Canada-U.S. border will open before the end of 2020.
China Express Airlines intends to order 50 COMAC ARJ21-700 regional jets for delivery by 2025, the carrier said on Oct. 15, detailing a previously reported deal.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the air transport industry has “turned a corner” in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, although that newfound optimism was not reflected in the carrier’s latest quarterly results.
One of the first tangible effects of the Israel-UAE rapprochement could be in the offing, with a Dubai-based company planning to bid for ownership of Israeli airline Israir.
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the holding company for Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), has confirmed that its regional carrier Firefly will commence operations of up to 10 narrowbody passenger aircraft starting first quarter 2021.
The arrangement will also have no restrictions on the reason for traveling, meaning Hong Kong and Singapore could potentially be the first pair of cities available for international leisure travel in the region.
Nigeria has ratified four bilateral air service agreements (BASAs)—with India, Morocco, Rwanda and the U.S.—and is pressing ahead with plans for a new cargo airport in the south east of the country.
WestJet, citing a lack of demand exacerbated by a local travel bubble, will suspend flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, and Sydney, effective Nov. 2, wiping out 100 weekly flights and 80% of the airline’s capacity in Canada’s Atlantic region.
The approval of a European Commission plan aimed at rationalizing inconsistent travel restrictions through a color-coded COVID-19 risk map marks a small step in the right direction for Europe’s airlines—but unfortunately, the beleaguered industry says, it doesn’t go far enough.
Delta Air Lines will defer $5 billion in expected deliveries through 2022, after reaching an agreement with Airbus to delay the arrival of 77 new airliners.
AirAsia X envisages operating a much smaller fleet of Airbus A330s in the long term following its planned resumption of flights with just a handful of aircraft early in 2021.
